Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 25 May 2016
313. Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the supports, entitlements or payment schemes he provides for dairy farmers (details supplied) who have oversupplied milk. [11986/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe rules governing the EU milk quota regime, including the superlevy system for production above quota, were set at EU level. At the request of Ireland and some other member states the EU Commission introduced a provision last year permitting payment of the levy in three annual instalments, without interest, on the understanding that the full amount of the levy was paid to the Commission by the Member State in 2015.
The Scheme required applicants to pay at least one third of their levy by October 2015 with the balance to be paid in 2016 and 2017. The scheme design was agreed in advance with the co-ops and farm organisations. The person named by the Deputy is an applicant under this Scheme.
As part of the discussions in the run-up to the March Council of Agriculture Ministers, Ireland proposed a further deferral of the payment to 2017 and 2018, to ease the financial burden on liable farmers in 2016. However, the European Commission advised that the legal basis for the Regulations under-pinning the scheme are no longer in existence and therefore further amendments were not possible. While Ireland suggested a possible alternative legal approach, it was clear that the proposal enjoyed very little support from other Member States and was therefore unlikely to succeed.
On that basis the focus turned to other measures in the package which can be of assistance to Irish dairy farmers to help them through current difficulties, including the doubling of intervention fixed price buying-in thresholds. I did however raise the matter with Commissioner Phil Hogan, in our recent bilateral meeting, as well as at last week’s Council of Ministers meeting and encouraged him to reflect again on whether a legal basis could be found to facilitate a further deferral in superlevy repayments for farmers.
This Scheme was followed by a dairy support package, worth €26.4m in total to the Irish dairy sector, where a flat rate payment of €1,395 was paid to all 2015 milk producers. Eligible applicants under the Young Farmer Scheme received an additional €1,000. The person named by the Deputy was also a beneficiary of the flat rate payment under this Scheme.
I am fully aware of the pressures on dairy farmers right now and I am committed to working with all players in the sector to address the issues facing us as we strive to ensure that we continue to have a sustainable dairy industry. As one of the proposers of the Dairy Forum my goal is to ensure that it continues to provide constructively in terms of relevant issues of concern to farmers and others in the sector. The Forum has already come forward with some good initiatives for farmers, including an initiative on improving cashflow planning at farm level, which will be rolled out shortly.
Dealing with price volatility is a major challenge for the sector. The Single Farm Payment provides some measure of income stability, and EU market support measures will have a role to play. These measures are not enough on their own, however. The sector needs to look at measures to reduce costs on farms, and at the development of new tools, including fixed price contracts, futures markets and more flexible financing arrangements for farmers. I expect all of the stakeholders in the sector, including processors and banks, to play an active role in the development of such instruments.
In terms of input costs at farm level, Ireland has called on the Commission to consider temporarily suspending EU import tariffs on fertilisers and I also welcome the proposal for the European Investment Bank (EIB) and Member States to work together with the Commission on the feasibility of an EU export credit tool.
I am aware that we need to deal urgently and effectively with this temporary problem of low prices. We must ensure that dairy farmers are protected from the worst impacts of low commodity prices in an appropriate way, but remain well placed to avail of emerging opportunities when markets recover. Ireland is strongly positioned as a competitive producer of dairy, and while conditions are extremely difficult at present, Irish dairy farmers will be well placed to avail of the opportunity presented by market recovery in due course.
